Sound and Meaning
by 13th of never
Summary: AU Gaara has never had a purpose in life, even when he seems to have a path... he's lost without meaning... he wants to find it in a certain someone... NejiGaa eventually... Rated M for Fun... It's my First fic...
1. Chapter 1

**Sound and Meaning**

_This is an introductory chapter, mainly the past of the characters._

**I do not own Naruto. Be thankful. **

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**CHAPTER 1…**

He stood there, at the bathroom door, just staring at his own arm… as shallow cuts in the form of five small x's adorned now his pale skin… he looked at them, mesmerized by them… it's not that he was a cutter, well he was, but not in the popular sense of the concept… he didn't cut his pain away to relieve his inner sorrow or whatever, actually the wounds were so shallow they barely even bled, they didn't even hurt… they were just there for him to contemplate… he liked the contrast of their figures in his skin, they looked unreal, he'd touch them, and still they will feel unreal, like they weren't there, but they were.

That was the part that bothered him really… the fact that even when they where in his possession, even if he had given them himself, they still felt foreign… everything, for that matter, always seemed so foreign, so far away he could never touch it, let alone get a hold of it… not a single feeling that belonged to him... nothing.

In the past, there have been deeper cuts, there have been fights with bigger bruises… they had disappear, little by little; there were only a few reminders, nothing worth remembering, nothing that held a meaning.

He walked back to his room, pushing the thoughts away; he had things to do, places to go, and a very bad habit of never being where he should be in the time that he should. So, at the glance of his watch, 6:30 pm on a cold autumn afternoon, he was home when he should be somewhere else…

He took a glance at himself in the mirror, pale skin, so pale it almost looked unhealthy, notion that was supported when you noticed how thin he was, even though he had lean muscles, he still looked skinny… and weak, even when he wasn't. He always had the thought that he looked completely different from what he really was, but didn't ponder much on it.

His clear green eyes kept roaming through his reflection, while he got dressed… black pants held tight (but not uncomfortably tight)around his hips, that went a little loose on the bottom, a black shirt just above the pant line, with some random band logo on it, a lot of buckles, chains, zippers and what not scattered through the outfit; fiery red hair, that fell a little over his eyes, his big, green, mesmerizing eyes, that were surrounded by dark rings from sleep deprivation, that he would cover with thick layers of black eyeliner that only seem to complement them, making them stand out more, adding if possible more beauty to his delicate features, in which he always wore a stoic mask.

And then, the red kanji tattooed on his forehead to complete 'the look'…it had been nothing like that, nothing out of fashion or anything of the matter… getting it have had a strong meaning, it still did, even if it was not exactly the same to him anymore.

Ai, _love_... such a tricky concept.

Taking a final glance, he sighed at the sight of himself, thinking about what most people said about him: that he looked weird, that he acted weird, that he was plain strange and that he was scary… and he was. When he thought about it he really seemed to be all that stuff. He wasn't one to look forward to be around people, to do anything, glaring at anyone who passed by, let alone anyone that randomly approached him… he was easily aggravated and often looked for fights and conflicts, just for kicks, to have something to do, since he never really felt like he had something that he HAD to do.

Until he met _him…_

Such a weird person he was… they had met a few years ago, when they were around 15 years old, at a park. At that time Gaara had been even more hostile than what he was now, and that's a lot to say; so when he saw some stupid blond dressed in orange in the swings, _his swings_, he just snapped… he had never been accused of being stable or reasonable, so he just approached said blonde and threw a blow to the face… he never thought the blonde would stand up or fight back… but he did. And not only that, but he had given him the taste of his first defeat. As a person that got into a lot of physical fights and that always came back from it all almost unscathed, this was something new. This guy was only a little taller than himself, whisker like marks on his cheeks, didn't look that strong either, but boy he hit hard…

After that day things happened like a blur; they kept seeing each other in the park, soon they realized they went to the same school and that they even lived nearby… they started to talk, because even when they seemed completely different, they had a lot in common.

The blond was, in Gaara's eyes, obnoxious, hyperactive, loud, a tad annoying, way too cheerful for a normal person… but one good look in his azure eyes and you'd see that there was hidden pain… the kind that can only mean years of suffering… Gaara could see his own eyes reflected on those eyes… the solitude… and still he was so caring, so innocent, so trust founded… there was nothing the redhead could really do but let himself get swept around by the one who will become his first true friend (not like he had fake ones to begin with)… Uzumaki Naruto, was the name… the only thought that Gaara recollected back then was that things were going to change, whether he liked it or not.

After that they became inseparable, mainly because Naruto was a stubborn bastard and will never leave Gaara the fuck alone, at least that's what the red haired teen kept saying…

Family wise, Gaara had no strings attached… he lived with his father and siblings (a bother, Kankurou, a weird, even weirder that himself, guy with a thing for kabuki make-up and puppets; and the elder of them, Temari, blonde, temperamental and scary, according to youngest), his mother had died giving birth to him. He never really cared much for his relatives and the feeling was returned, at least until his father died; after that, the elder of the three, Temari, had taken the housing in her hands and tried to mend what was left of their so called family.

The redhead had thought it was all a hypocritical stunt, but he couldn't deny that he had wished something like that would've happen in the past, so he kind of agreed to the whole 'family bonding' thing. At the time he was around 17 years old, his sister was in college and so was his brother, thus the whole bonding thing was merely a title for something that went like "I'll say I'm related to you, I'll call you, I'll keep an eye of you, maybe I'll even care for you" kind of relationship.

Their father had been an important person in the business world, so he had left a small fortune for his kids… probably not out of concern, but just because it had turned out that way. Temari was to follow her father's steps and take over the companies; this bothered none of her siblings. This way, they were able to pay for college and Gaara was able to stay in his school, with his friend.

On the other side, Naruto was an orphan. He had been taken care of by one of his parent's friends, Umino Iruka, who he saw like a father figure. Naruto had wondered around for a while after his parent's death, since at the time Iruka was too young and had no possibilities of taking care of him. At the time he graduated from college and got a job as a school teacher, he also adopted Naruto, and they lived together ever since. They didn't have a lot of money, so once Naruto was old enough, he started to take part time jobs, basically trying to help out the one who had helped him so much… to him family was important, friends were important, loved ones, hell, even acquaintances were important to him! He was one to trust fast, he moved fast, especially around those who he cared about, like not wanting to miss any gesture, any minute any nothing of what gave him happiness… and he was happy. And he wanted Gaara to feel that way… maybe not the moving fast part, but yes the caring and being cared about.

Soon enough, Gaara had met Naruto's friends, and they became his… acquaintances?? Sure, that'll do, which consisted on Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Rock Lee. Deep down, the redhead knew they were somewhat scared of him, he didn't hold a reputation for nothing… so it had been funny to him, the way they acted around him, the way they addressed to him as in a different manner, not like comrades… how they'd be so protective of Naruto, like he would hurt him, he'd kill anyone who even dared to look at his friend the wrong way… and that bring us to Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto's life time rival.

Sasuke was a raven haired guy, pale skin, good looks and an attitude, that have had half the school eating from his hand, all the girls lusting over him, smart… he was tall too. If you were to ask, anyone would've told you he was perfect.

Gaara hadn't liked this guy at the beginning, he was stuck up, coincided and a bastard, as Naruto would put it, plus he was always pushing Naruto's buttons, calling him names and picking fights. Enough for the over protective _best _friend…

Sasuke was the youngest of the Uchiha family, one of the wealthier and more acknowledged families in the country. Sometime before Gaara met him, his parents were murdered, so his brother took the place as the head of the Uchiha Corporation.

Gaara had heard about it, some from his father, some from the news, some from random sources of information, that the guy, _Itachi_, didn't have a cordial relationship with his parents, to say the least. He had left his home at the age of 16 (Sasuke was 11), tired of his over-controlling parents and his supposed to be perfect life. He was a genius apparently, a prodigy or something, so by the time he left he actually was already in college… they didn't knew about his whereabouts until the news of his deceased parents, when he came back to take care of everything, this translating in taking care of Sasuke.

Of course, Sasuke didn't take this 'act of love' from his brother very well, thinking that he only came back to claim the money, but it seems that Itachi was a member of some organization, called Akatsuki, that ran nightclubs and other entertainment places (A/N: that's right!), namely casinos and places of the sort, in various cities, so they were quite rich as well. He had also finished college (who the fuck runs away from his house to finish college?) so he had the skill and the poise to take care of business… still, Sasuke hated him and had lived the rest of his high school education with some late uncle's friend or something, named Hatake Kakashi who, by the way, was a perverted college teacher. Things got better between Sasuke and Itachi eventually; they at least can see each other now without Sasuke trying to break Itachi's neck.

But as said before, Gaara didn't originally like Sasuke. This guy just got on his nerves, mainly for Naruto but also because he would always glare at him, with some sort of superiority look that made Gaara want to put his insides out… and there was the thing that Sasuke wasn't scared of him, nor was he impressed or anything… nothing… Gaara would've felt ignored and hated him for that, since he was so sick of being pushed aside, but that was not the case. Sasuke acknowledge him as a _rival_. Not a rival in a stupid race to see who was more stupid, like he had with Naruto, but a rivalry _about_ Naruto.

It took sometime for Gaara to decipher this (aka, Sasuke yelling at his face to stay away from _his_ Naruto), and he could see the reason for such misunderstanding, since he himself had thought of having feelings other than care and friendship towards the kitsune, deeper feelings.

Seeing that he had never cared about anyone and no one had cared about him, it was easy for him to crave the love of family, the love a friend, the love of a desired lover. And Naruto had offered something of the likes (of the second one anyways) so easily, it was impossible not to fall for him.

They had their battle, Gaara and Sasuke, to gain Naruto over; it wasn't until a few months later that Sasuke had been front forward towards the blonde about his feelings, and fortunately and unfortunately at the same time for both parties, Naruto did nothing about it... until he practically jumped the raven at a party some time later.

Gaara never even commented his feelings to Naruto, afraid that he might ruin their current relationship, the way it seemed to have happened to Sasuke at the beginning, soon he would regret it, as he saw the two together.

For a while he had waited, even hoped for the Uchiha to fuck up, to do something wrong, so he could step in, like in those romantic stories, and be the hero, the knight in shining armor that would shield Naruto from the hurt and the bastard… in all honestly, he had been selfish, hadn't consider the blonde's feelings at all, but there was no need for it, since the raven seemed to do everything right. Damn it, was he really perfect?

No. He wasn't. He was far from it. But he wasn't stupid, he wasn't about to let go the only thing that had comforted him through the rough times, the only thing that brought laughter to his saddened world. He wasn't about to fuck up the only good thing he had. He was determined to make Naruto as happy as he made him, and he was succeeding.

That's where Gaara had drawn the line. For as much as he wanted it, Naruto's happiness was more important than his own. After a while he just got used to it, as he tried to convince himself that he was over it. He distanced himself from them and it was around that time that his father died. He went trough a tough time, because of everything that had happened he felt more alone than ever before. Not because of his father's death per se, but because he found himself unable to even shed a single truthful tear for the man. He felt like he had nothing, and he probably didn't. His family was a wreck and so was he as an individual.

There's when he had started to get in more trouble. Picking fights that seemed more like suicide attempts. Then the cutting got pretty bad, ending in a trip to the hospital. Naruto had found him laying his room, passed out from blood loss. The redhead probably would've died if he hadn't arrived. Once he was ok, the blonde had gone ballistic, and threatened to kill him if he ever pulled another stunt like that.

After that things started to go back to the way they were before. In time, he even became friends with Sasuke, seeing that they actually had a lot in common. They grew close, pretty close, the three of them, close enough to become partners and open a small coffee house near campus once they went to college.

It was Naruto's idea, to make money of their own to pay for their studies or rent or whatever. Sasuke and Gaara didn't really need the money, but they liked the idea of making a project together, so they agreed.

Getting a good location was easy, since Itachi had connections, and money was not an obstacle, because Gaara had offered his college money to do it. He never had a plan, never thought of going to school or doing anything, so he had offered to take care of business too. Of course they didn't let him.

Gaara was an art student. He had fallen a year behind Naruto and Sasuke (the first was up to be a psychologist and the second studied management and political science), but it was ok, since he had been occupied with the opening of the coffee house. The place was really simple; somewhere quiet where you can go drink coffee and relax, read or admire the art that hung in the walls, that was mostly Gaara's work at the beginning, and then it held minor art expositions for art students. Some days there were readings and music displays, nothing too big. It was pretty much open for whatever students wanted to pull out. It held two stories, which were the first floor and the basement. In the first, it was set as a regular coffee house; where they also serve simple meals. Downstairs it was a more relaxed place, where most readings and stuff take place. It was nearly empty, aside from some bench like thingies and some sculptures.

This takes us back for the reasons why Gaara had to get his ass up and get dressed, at 6:30 pm, on an autumn afternoon, and why was he not where he supposed to. The obnoxious ring of his cell phone took him back from his reverie. He lazily approach the damned thing and answer it without even bothering to look at the caller ID.

"…" was all he did to answer (A/N: my brother does that, answers the phone and doesn't say anything).

"GAARA!!" said the very irritated voice in the other line.

"Who is this?" he asked nonchalantly

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN 'WHO IS THIS'?!?! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU???" At this point he had recognized the voice of certain blonde boy, a boy he liked to torture.

"Jeez, you don't have to yell at me. I'm at my house" he said with a monotone voice, in an obvious attempt to irritate the other, which worked.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN AT YOUR HOUSE?? DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS??!!" said the other, getting more and more frustrated.

"I mean it as in the place that I live and no, your point?" he said, wishing to end the conversation soon, he did not like to talk on the phone.

"Its 6:30, you were supposed to be here an hour ago" said the kitsune.

"Oh, really? Yeah, I know, I'm on my way" He lied

"But you just said you were at your house?" confusion damped in every word.

"Well I obviously lied" was the dry response

"In which statement?"

"You pick"

"Whatever, we're waiting for you, we have that meeting with the guys from the other day, we told you about it, are you gonna make it???"

"I guess so"

"So, should we wait for you?"

"Probably not"

"Gaara…"

"I'm going" and with this he hung up the phone, tugging in his jacket, and searching for his keys as he moved to leave the apartment.

Far away, a startled, mad and confused blonde muttered "_bastard_"… and proceed to start the said meeting, knowing for sure the other would not appear. He approach the three guys that were chatting on a table, being one of those his hot boyfriend, the other two, people that he had met at school.

The first was a guy who looked really bored, like he was about to fall asleep in any second. Was dressed in simple jeans, black and white tennis shoes, a black t-shirt and an olive green hoodie; had long dark hair, pulled in a gravity defying ponytail, his name was Nara Shikamaru. The other one was a really beautiful guy, long black hair that reached his waist, tied loosely in the back, pale skin, eyes that seemed white, but that had a hint of violet to them, graceful features, was dressed on black dress pants, grey shirt and a black blazer. He seemed to carry the conversation with the other raven, his name was Hyuuga Neji, Sasuke had met them through some of his classmates, when they approached him to discuss some business. Naruto got back to reality as he reached the table and addressed the others as he sat down.

"Sorry, I was on the phone with our other partner, seems like he's running a little late, so it's best if we start without him". Sasuke gave him a look, knowing very well that running a little late for Gaara meant that he probably didn't even remembered at all.

The others just nodded in agreement, and they proceeded to talk about their business. Around an hour later they had come to an agreement to the usage of the coffee house for some meetings (their nature is not important at this point). Having agreed and after some coffee they decided to leave.

Neji had though that being stood up by one of the owners had been impolite and unprofessional, but shrugged it off. The Nara didn't give a damn.

20 minutes after they had already left, Gaara made it to the coffee house, to be greeted by the always annoying waitresses. They were two of them, a blond, kind of pretty girl by the name of Yamanaka Ino, who was an aspiring model and actress, and Haruno Sakura, pink haired girl that went to the same college as them, wanted to be a reporter or something.

They were great friends, Ino and Sakura, the latter had met Naruto at school, he had invited her to the coffee house and they ended up with a job. Same thing happened to Akimichi Chouji, who made the part of chef. After eating his food, Gaara, Naruto and even Sasuke had thought of abducting him and keep him to themselves, but they decided against it.

Gaara was then greeted by the yelling and screaming of a very upset Naruto, that he chose to ignore and then nodded at Sasuke as a salute.

"You can't keep doing this. This is business not a game" Said the raven boy to the redhead, who only glared at him and then answered.

"Anything important?"

"Not really, but you should've shown up" said the other. Gaara just shrugged. Doing business wasn't his thing, not that he had a thing, but still, he didn't like to talk to strangers and do agreements, that's what Sasuke and Naruto were for.

He just went to the counter and sat there as he enjoyed some coffee and tried to ignore and keep himself from killing their waitresses. Previous thoughts, coming back and empty feeling on his stomach told him that there was something he had missed.

Yeah. Those were the side effects of the "never being in the right place and the right time" stuff showing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sound and Meaning**

_Continuation… a glimpse at Neji's life…_

**I do not own Naruto. Be thankful. **

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****CHAPTER 2…**

Gaara sat down at the counter of the coffee house, trying to mentally convince himself not to snap violently and kill the waitresses that keep screeching around him. However, as the gawking seemed to be never ending, he started to rub his forehead, muttering the words "_don't kill them, they're Naruto's friends, they're good for the business" _

He didn't really know why they would always approach him to talk about whatever 'interesting' things had happened during their shifts. The conversation was mostly about how cute Sasuke was when he sipped at his coffee, how hot he looked when he was reading and other oh so interesting facts about the raven. Yeah, they didn't care that Sasuke was gay or that he was dating Naruto.

This time, how ever, their conversation wasn't about Sasuke's deeds. They were talking about the guys who had previously visited the place.

"Aw, Gaa-chan you missed them!!! And they were really hot!!" Ino squealed.

Oh yeah, they used to address him by the pet name of Gaa-chan, simply because they were the dreadful spawn of the Devil.

"Yeah! Too bad cause we already called for them!" Sakura said in a playful voice.

Gaara glared at them and they just laughed, then he went back to ignore them, as he kept repeating his mantra. Soon they went off to attend some tables and he was able to regain his sanity. He then saw his friends sitting at a table, Naruto trying to go through his class notes while Sasuke was trying to molest him. He chuckled. It was nice to see them happy, but for some reason it saddened him too.

A little later, it was time to close. He had taken it as a personal duty, to close their establishment once it was clean and ready (he didn't do the cleaning though, some guy named Guy did it), then he would walk to his place. Sasuke and Naruto lived together, and their apartment was relatively close, they'd leave early since them both had school in the morning.

Amazingly, Gaara's apartment was closer to the store than the one his friends shared. It was at the most a 15 minutes walk; somehow he managed to turn it into an hour walk.

Roaming around the city at night was never boring; somehow you could even say it was more vivid than in the day, probably a light effect but still. The area in which the coffee house and Gaara's apartment were located was quite busy; it held many establishments and was always crowded.

Gaara walked aimlessly, not really paying attention at his surroundings. Depending on the sight, he'd decide which way to take; at this point he already knew most of the places around the area. He'd walk until he'd reach either his apartment or some place where he would want to stay. That's when he arrived to a little park, it was way out of route from his place, but it was beautiful.

Gaara walked across the park and lay on the grass, glancing over the stars. The spot he picked, the same as always, was on a darkened area, ideal to think without being disturbed.

His thoughts were directed to the same things, going through them over and over until he wished he could just sleep and forget.

The first of these things was the void he felt inside, that he considered should be filled with purpose. He remembered one of the last conversations he had with his father; he had told him he would amount to nothing, that his life will be meaningless and that if he ever made it to his twenties it'll be more than what he expected of him. At the time he had fought him, he had said not to dare pass judgment on him for he barely even knew his own kid; he had said things, so horrible, yet he would never regret them. But he never contradicted the fact that, indeed, his life was meaningless.

Even now, he could prove his dad wrong: he didn't throw his life away; but being alive was something extremely different from feeling alive. He had all the tools. He had caring friends, he was in school doing something that he loved but that never filled the void, he had responsibilities… but all these things he saw as requirements to follow a path that he didn't want to, nor could, understand.

He was waiting for something to come and explode on his face that would force him to feel and to believe that these 20 years of life hadn't been wasted. Maybe that was the reason he liked spending time with Deidara, things always blew up with him around. But he needed something, anything that would show him how it was like to live and see with a passion. So he kept waiting.

Time moved so slowly.

Gaara felt his face wet, then he realized it was raining. It could only mean that it was time to head home. He made an attempt to lift himself up, his hand flinched and the rest of his body stood still. There was no second attempt, until the rained had already stopped.

_Somewhere else…_

A tall, slender figure walked towards the door of an apartment building. From afar he seemed to be cool and calmed walking under the rain like it was a warm summer day, undisturbed. But if you were to look closer with such intensity that would blind you, you could see the guy was fuming.

For Neji, this day hadn't been a good day at all. School was getting on his nerves, he never ever gave school duties more time then what they needed; which wasn't much since he was really, _really_ smart, a prodigy some might say. And now he had to spend the little free time he had in some stupid project and not only that but he teamed up with the laziest guy in the class. Sure, he wouldn't deny that Shikamaru was a genius, he could put up a plan together anticipate the flaws and cover them, find the easiest way to make everything work perfectly, but to actually go through with them? NEVER! So there he was, putting Shika's plans in motion, arranging dates, talking to people, setting up, for fucks sakes, book and art selling's at some coffee house that already did it!!! But fuck it, it was easy. Apparently Shikamaru had a friend who told him that in said establishment they did things of the sort, but that the owners didn't really have time to set them up or find the contacts, so they only did it when asked, the plan was that they will find the contacts and set up the events on weekly basis for a couple of months, make profits and ace the class. Simple and easy, but, as the Nara would say; too troublesome.

And there was the fact that his uncle, Hiashi, wouldn't lay off his ass, wanting him to take an internship on his company, so that he would 'get used to the work, for when it was time for him to run it'. If he was already doomed to spend the rest of his life working on a corporation that he loathed, why in the fucking hell would he want to rush his fucked up fate?! It was unbelievable.

And to top it all, he let Shikamaru borrow his car for he thought it'd be nice to walk home. Who would've known it was going to be pouring rain? So now, he was tired and soaked and unable to let out all that he wanted to let out.

As he got inside his apartment, he saw the little light of his message machine flickering. TenTen had been calling. He erased all the messages without hearing them; he didn't need to be yelled at; not now, not ever.

He hated it. Everything. His life and how had he managed it, how he led himself into a dead end and just stood there, conforming with the fact that it was all over and acting like everything was so damn good. He was supposed to be the rebellious one in his family, damn it!

After his parents died and he was left with his uncle and his family, he had sworn that he wouldn't become what both his father and his uncle were. Before his parents' accident, he barely ever saw his father. Always in the office, always working, too occupied to even glance at his family. Neji didn't even consider him a father; he was just a guy he was related to. His mother, on the other hand, was always sad with no purpose in life but to be a business man's wife and a "_mother_"; complaining because she always came second to her husband, and paying no mind to her son. Same story with his uncle.

The only reason why he was so welcomed by the man was because even when he wasn't his son, he was perfectly fitted to be his successor, stressing the 'not his son hence not real heir' part. His older daughter, Hinata, never cared for business, even if she had accepted to become the heiress of the company, it all changed when she decided to become a nurse and threw all of his father's plans for her through the window. Neji had never been so proud.

And in some twisted change of fate he was doing exactly all the things he swore he'd never do. It had sounded ok at the beginning, but God, it was just wrong. Heading faster and faster towards his uncle's dream, leaving him with no chance to even glance at his own wishes.

Time moved so damned fast.

The thing with TenTen was a whole issue on its own. He had thought, when the 'working in the company' idea seemed good, that he would have a girlfriend through his college years, would propose before he graduated and get married once he were working for his uncle, by the time he'd taken over the company, he would have his family and be a responsible man and an example to society, as expected from a Hyuuga.

Of course, at the time he didn't really think that his attraction towards males would be an impediment. He thought it was just a phase.

He then found a nice girl. She had brown hair and eyes, beautiful face, nice body; she was smart, athletic, and fun to be around. They got along so well, Neji thought it'd be a good idea to date her. He couldn't tell between his reasoning and his feelings for his life, so what was just merely convenient for his plans, he confused with attraction. Of course, he cared about her, but not in _that_ way. She was his friend and yeah, she was pretty interested in him, but he wasn't in her, and now he was paying the consequences. He never meant to hurt her, but he did it, _he does_. And no matter how much he tried to convince himself, he just couldn't leave her.

In this kind of times he wished he had picked some bimbo that would be easily confused for a sex toy and that wouldn't give a fuck about him loving her or not, as long as he took her to nice places and bought her nice stuff, but no, he had to pick her.

They grew distant; their relationship became monotonous attached by her attempts to fix it, in which he always gave in. He felt the guilt build up in him, every time they fought, he'd run to some bar and pick up a guy to spend the night with. Then he'd go back to her. He hated the taste on his mouth every time he'd tell her that he loved her; he knew it was a lie, but it fixed things. He was sure she knew he cheated on her whenever he had a chance, he just guessed she didn't know it was with guys. He hated it, that she never got mad, that she wouldn't leave him.

He knew he was an asshole and only hoped for the day she would get tired and dump him, for he just couldn't get himself to do it. He feared that day would never come.

Right now he was washing his face in the sink of his bathroom, feeling a little nauseous, thinking about going back outside and head to a bar or something. He grabbed a towel and started to dry his face and hair, still standing in front of the mirror. He saw his reflection, fixing his eyes on the tattoo he held in the middle of his forehead. It was a swastika like symbol, with two lines on the sides, a little reminder he had gotten; to never forget that he was just a pawn of his family's and of fate's game.

He always covered it with a bandana; he didn't want to have people asking questions about it, uncomfortable questions for which he had not a single polite answer. And that was his game; to be nice and polite to everyone, to be educated and always react with good manners, to be perfect and flawless.

That was ok, acting cool and collected, making polite small talks with people, charming them, gaining their trust, getting what he needed from them and getting away. He was good at that, but that was it. He wouldn't talk about himself, he would not explain himself. No. If he was to be used like a toy, he'd act like the lifeless toy he was supposed to.

Soon he dismissed the idea of going back out while he removed his wet clothes, exchanging them for dry ones, and then went to lie on his bed. He felt tired, he just wanted to forget. Dreaming always helped a little. Just a little, but that was all he needed, to hold the thought, if just for a little while, that things could be different.

_Further away_

Naruto couldn't help but keep thinking about his friend. Somehow, he had always thought he had failed the redhead.

He remembered the day they met; he saw the Sabaku approaching the swings and thought that he may make a friend… no one, but handful of people would ever get near him or talk to him. He never knew why and he didn't care, but that didn't meant it didn't hurt.

He was hopeful, like always, especially when the guy went directly at him. At the moment the blonde was about to talk he felt a fist on his face that threw him out of the swings. Normally he would've just let it slide, but this time, he was just tired of all the bullshit, he hadn't done anything to this guy; he didn't even know him! What the fuck was his problem? He felt his blood heat with anger and retaliated. They got into the worst fight he ever had, but he came out victorious. He didn't saw it as a happy moment, because of those eyes, those green profound eyes that were drown in misery… they haunted him. He was determined to make the pain leave those eyes, he didn't wanted to see that sight again… that look, so hopelessly staring at nothing… he'd make it disappear.

As their life continued, he managed to make friends with this guy. He was funny a_nd _pretty. Naruto felt the need to pull him closer to his life _fast_. Time passed and they were great friends, even if he had wanted it to be something else.

When Sasuke confessed, he had been shocked. Before Gaara, he had a huge crush with the Uchiha but always felt like it was impossible because of their little game. He couldn't stay near him, he didn't want to have to answer him until he knew how Gaara felt about him, but never dared to ask. I mean, Gaara never let his mask slid, not even a little, it was impossible for Naruto to find out if he was interested or not. But his patience grew thin, and he just decided to let go, because at the time he just needed someone to love and to love him, and he couldn't wait any longer.

He smiled, sitting in his bed, as he saw his lover getting out of the bathroom, with nothing but a towel around his waist, drying his hair with another one. He would never regret it, because he had made the right choice. This guy showed him what love meant, made him feel it. He was thankful, no doubt, but still the promise he made to himself; _that look_… it never left those eyes.

He sighed, as Sasuke sat beside him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that, ah…" he fall back, laying on the bed, unable to finish the sentence… the raven followed him grabbing his hand and caressing it slightly with his thumb.

"Don't worry so much about him, he knows you're there, if he needed help he'd come to you" He said, knowing very well what troubled his boyfriend.

"But he won't, even if he needs it, he's too stubborn. He won't admit it and I… I just can't act like nothing's wrong anymore!" said the blonde, fixing his eyes in the ceiling.

"Don't do something you'll regret later. He's strong, there's no need for all of you to keep treating him like his some five year old that doesn't know what he's doing. He has changed"

"No… he hasn't" said the blonde with a sad smile.

"He's not about to make the same mistakes as before, trust me, trust him" said the other, trying to somehow comfort his beloved.

"I try… I really do but… he's just…"

The raven pulled him over for a kiss, and then said in a low tender voice

"It's ok. It'll be ok. Don't worry about it"

Naruto just smiled again; inside those obsidian eyes he would always find comfort. He just wished for his friend to be as happy as he was.

_Later that week…_

"Oh, come on Gaara it'd be fun!" said the hyperactive blond to his friend, in the fashion he had been addressing him for the past 15 minutes now…

"No"

"COME ON!!!"

"…no"

"INO!!!!" that was one of the drastic measures. It had never got as far as to call Sakura to the mix.

"Come on Gaara!" said the girl, while clinging on a very pissed redhead. He cursed the day all of them got immune to his death glare.

"Leave me alone" he growled.

"Not until you say yes"

He cursed and mumbled something that could only mean he had agreed to what the two blondes were inquiring, then walked away leaving behind his pleased and happy friends.

He approached Sasuke, somehow he managed to be the sane one in the place… that just said a lot of his choice of friends.

Gaara glanced at the raven, an annoyed yet questioning look on his face.

"They're already forcing me to go too, so screw you"

The red head just rolled his eyes, the ones behind me making plans and giggling, the one in front of him looking at him with a smug smirk, looking at him…

"Since you missed the last meeting you will attend the next by yourself; the dobe and I have some issues to attend over the weekend" (translation: he has to molest Naruto all trough the weekend and can't be bothered by meaningless business arrangements)

The way he spoke was one to make clear that it wasn't a petition, it was a command; Gaara didn't like to be bossed around so he just stared at him, more like glared and took into consideration to have stayed with the nutcases back there or snap the neck of the nut in front of him.

"…Whatever" he finally said, looking away and motioning to the door.

"Yeah, not like you have an option really. But I expect you to be here and take care of it"

"Hn"

Gaara was already stepping out of the place, Naruto then yelled at him

"Gaara, don't be late tomorrow, k?!"

He walked out faster.

* * *

**Author notes:**

… This is weird… the chapter… I wanted to continue it, but I felt like it would've taken forever and I would never finish it. Sorry. I've been harassed by school work, random stuff, I'm behind on my Naruto manga reading and it doesn't help that I'm the laziest person I know.

Beta-ed by Darka-chan (thanks a bunch)


	3. Chapter 3

**Sound and Meaning**

_And the Chorus Swells _

**I do not own Naruto. Dang. **

**CHAPTER 3…**

Next day Gaara was suddenly awaken by the sound of his phone, he tried to cover his ears and ignore it but it was persistent, the last night he had been wondering around again so he was tired and just basically mornings were like hell for him. Once he found the center of his recent hatred towards the world he flipped it open to answer, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"I hate you"

"It's that the way you say hello to your beloved sister?"

"Oh, sorry, I hate you bitch"

"Why do you have to be so fucking rude?!" she said mockingly.

"What do you want Temari?"

"Nothing, I just called to let you know we're having lunch together tomorrow at 12, and that you can't say no 'cause if you do I won't give a damn anyways"

"I can't"

"I don't give a damn, you're gonna be there cause Kankurou is going and I'm heading back to Suna on Monday"

"I have some… commitments at the Café"

"Can't Sasuke or Naruto take care of it?" she was beginning to get annoyed

"No"

"Why?!"

"Because"

"Cancel it, can't you? Is it so important that you would ditch your own family?"

"Anything is"

"Gaara please, please, please come have lunch with us" she said pleadingly

"I already told you I can't"

"Fine then we'll go to the damned Café tomorrow"

Gaara pondered on the idea for a moment… the image of Temari, Sakura and Ino together popped into his mind… "I'll cancel"

"Yay! So see you tomorrow at 12 at the restaurant down the street from my apartment, don't you fucking dare to be late, I'll cut your fucking head off!!" she yelled and then hung up.

"Bitch"

_**Somewhere close yet far**_

"Sasuke! You promised!" A pouting Naruto said while sitting on the bed and crossing his arms in protest

"Can't"

"But you promised!"

"I already told you I can't"

"But you…!"

"Look, cartoons"

"YAY!!!"

_**Blah **_

At the Café everything was normal. Except for the fact that Gaara was left to attend tables. Gaara was attending costumers and actually _talking_ and _interacting _with them (which was dangerous thing, and that was a verified fact), why? Because some idiot, namely Naruto, had told their waitresses that they would go out at night. Of course what the blond hadn't got into consideration was the significant amount of time those two needed to get ready, and how would they do that? Dumping all work on poor little Gaara, that's how!

The day hadn't been particularly pretty for Gaara, his sleep was violently disrupted, he had to meet his siblings the next day, then when in the comfort of his establishment he was left alone doing work that did not belong to him, had been yelled at by more than a couple of unsatisfied costumers and to top it all he'd have to go out later on with these people that he was pretty certain had been sent from hell to torture him and get him ready for when he died and went to reside in said place. He thought it wasn't fair, but then again it wasn't like life had ever been peaches and cream for him, maybe at this point he should have been used to it.

But then again when you're doomed to something you kinda just wish the time you have before it happens to be peaceful, not spent with a bunch of assholes who act as though he has to serve them… which he has, but still! They could be polite enough not to shove it at his face.

Just when Gaara was about to poke some dude's eyeballs out with a dirty spoon Naruto made his appearance, making Chouji yell with happiness "Get the psycho out!! It's scaring the costumers!" well maybe it wasn't exactly happiness.

Naruto grabbed Gaara by the waist and dragged him outside "Now, now Gaara, calm down, the guy just wanted his order, nothing to lose an eye over"

"LET ME GO!!! I'LL KILL HIM!! HE'S BEEN BUGGING ME FOR THE PAST 20 MINUTES! I FUCKING HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME YOU ASSHOLE!! THEY JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND! I WANT HIS EYE!!!" Gaara said trying to wiggle off Naruto's embrace.

Once outside Naruto released Gaara, who started fixing his clothes angrily while muttering things to himself of which Naruto wanted no recollection of, once the redhead was seemingly calmed Naruto spoke "Where are Ino and Sakura?"

"They left 'cause they had to go 'make themselves look pretty'. As if"

"AH, don't be mean Gaara! I had nearly forgotten we were going to go out! We should go get ready too!"

"I'm already ready"

"But you look like shit"

"Then it matches the way I feel"

"C'mon! Even Sasuke is happy about this!"

"Is that why he looks so perky today? I should've guessed" They glanced over at the gloomy Sasuke (who was sitting in a table by the window) nibbling on a hamburger. Nibbling and moping.

"He's just playing, he loves going to Akatsuki" the blonde said walking back in, Gaara being in control of himself (well, as in control as he could ever be) followed him.

"Yeah, 'cause we all know how much he loves bumping into Itachi and all"

"Oh, come on! I'm this close" he put his thumb and index finger up to his eye barely keeping them from touching "-to finally get them to talk to each other without throwing punches!"

"You are?"

"Yeah, and I'm also trying to find Itachi a date" he eyed Gaara warily.

"Don't look at me; I already stated that I'm gay"

"Don't be silly"

"STOP TALKING ABOUT ITACHI, GODDAMMIT!" The Uchiha burst out.

"Now, now calm down Teme" Naruto walked over to Sasuke and patted him in a soothing way on the back. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"You know Naruto, if you stopped butting in other people's business, life would be easier for said people, meaning me" Gaara said while taking a seat across from Sasuke.

"You only say that because you need to get laid" Naruto replied having accommodated himself in the raven's lap. The redhead glared at him with all his might and Naruto just smiled, bright and wide and then continued to speak.

"I think it would be best if we just left from here, I'll call everyone and tell them to meet us here by seven, I think we should go get ready, Chouji will manage in here, today's not a busy day anyways, so it should be ok. He'll meet us at the club later. We should get going cause I refuse to take Gaara looking like that, no offense man, you look like a dirty hobo, a psychotic one, that won't help you get a date, but I don't want you to be late so be here early unless you want Sakura and Ino to know where you live"

Gaara and Sasuke looked unfazed; they've heard him go at it longer.

"If you keep abusing your vocal chords like that, they're gonna give up on you" said Sasuke.

Naruto inhaled loudly "But you'd buy me new ones, right?"

"Yeah" Naruto smiled and kissed his boyfriend chastely in the lips.

Gaara involuntarily wrinkled his nose like he always did, and spoke "I can't go early I have to close the Café"

"Don't give me that crap, Guy can do it"

"I don't trust Guy"

"But he's your friend! Friends are supposed to trust each other!"

"Just like you trust me, right?"

Naruto's smile faltered "That's not fair"

Sasuke chose to speak "Drop it Gaara, Guy can do it, it's not like he hasn't done it before. Naruto could you get me a soda?"

"Sure" he got up from Sasuke's lap quietly, being somewhat shocked and sad. Sasuke stared intently to Gaara, who just brushed his hair from his face

"If you plan on lecturing me about Naruto's feelings you can save it"

"I won't" his gaze still scrutinizing the redhead

"What are you staring at?"

Sasuke finally diverted his eyes from the other male and sighing "Nothing, I was just wondering how life would be if you weren't such a lame undecided self-pitied coward, but I'm not one to complain" he shrugged and took another chip.

Sasuke had always been very happy to let Gaara know that he could've had Naruto, and was prone to poke on all the reasons why he didn't. He often pointed out the times in which the redhead could've had a significant relationship but sabotaged it out of fear. No need to say the redhead didn't appreciated the input at all.

Gaara glared hard, but Sasuke ignored it "One of this days I'm gonna forget that you're my friend"

At that point Naruto made his appearance. "Here you go teme, I got you one too Gaara" he placed the drinks on the table and sat down on Sasuke again who thanked him, and then it hit him… and in response he hit Sasuke "TEME!!! Don't send me off to get you drinks like I'm your slave!!"

"I'm leaving" Gaara got up and started walking but Naruto grabbed him by the arm

"Be here by seven"

Gaara pried his arm off and walked out.

"He'll be here"

"Why do I keep messing up?"

"Because he's an idiot"

_**In another part of town**_

Neji and TenTen were walking down the street to where the girl lived. They were both silent, but you couldn't notice there was something wrong. At least not if you didn't know them very well. They walked side by side but without making any physical contact, the Hyuuga kept his hands in his pockets and acted as cool as ever, the girl was clutching her bag tightly and her gaze was fixed up front. She courtly greeted some people she knew, and kept walking quietly instead of being all over her boyfriend, like she commonly uses to. Neji had decided to ignore everything, making his girlfriend even angrier.

Once they were outside her apartment door she was fumbling through his purse trying to find her keys but her mind was elsewhere, making it all the more difficult.

"Are you really just gonna keep shut?"

"What do you want me to say?"

She sighed loudly in exasperation and finally found her keys, she opened the door and bolted into her place, he shook his head and followed her inside. Peaceful time was over.

"I just don't get it! Did you broke your fingers?! A week, Neji, a fucking week without a word from you! You don't even return my calls anymore"

"I have a lot of things to do and a lot on my mind"

"How long would you have waited if we hadn't bumped into each other today, uh?!" that was an eloquent way to put it, if you consider 'bumping into each other' her waiting for him outside his class.

"Well I guess we'll never know, will we?"

"Why are you such an asshole to me? What have I done to you?" tears were falling down her cheeks.

"Oh, please it was a WEEK, TenTen, a goddamn week! We don't need to be together all the time, I have things to do that I can't accomplish if you insist on being by my side 24/7!"

She cut him up "Like clubbing and going to bars with God knows who!?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She wiped her tears with both hands placing them in each side of her head trying to calm down, she let them drop and shook her head "Just… nothing"

"So this is all about you thinking I'm with someone else" he nodded to himself "it's always that, isn't it? You not trusting me"

"How can I?"

"Have I ever done anything to you-"— 'that you know of'— "-that would make you think that I would actually play with you that way? Do you really think so low about me?" how he managed to not bit his tongue was a mystery.

"You're never around"

The Hyuuga sighed "I can't be glued to you! Do I ever do this to you when it's you the one that goes out? No! Because I trust you enough to know that nothing will happen"

"But it's not the same!"

"How come!?" by this point he had already lost it too.

"Because I know I'm not doing anything wrong!"

"And you instantly assume I do"

"What do you want me to believe? You don't wanna meet, you don't call, I can never find you at your house, I can even remember when was the last time I was there; you're avoiding me"

"You know what, that's fine. If that's what you want to believe, fine. Think whatever you want"

"What warranty do you give me to trust you? I don't want to feel like this but I can't just let it go, I can't"

"Well I don't know what you expect. I have nothing to give you. I don't want to feel like I must be doing something for you to be ok when there's nothing going on" lies, lies, lies…

"You don't want to fix this, do you?" she spoke softly, finally gathering up the courage to voice the question that had been bugging her for a long time.

The Hyuuga jerked his head and stared in shock. He was remorseful; he didn't want to keep lying to her. Still, he didn't want to make the choice either. So he finally spoke.

"Right now I don't know" he always used this. Faking a choice made by rage, it could easily be fixed up.

"Just leave"

Neji complied. He didn't want to stay there, and he always ended up really mad. He will immediately begin to blame everyone, his uncle, TenTen, anyone but himself. He made his way towards his apartment, it was somewhat far, but he needed the time. And a drink.

_**30 minutes past 7 **_

"I'll kill him, I swear I will kill him!" a very agitated blonde said as he failed to communicate with a certain stubborn redhead. Various other people were gathered a couple of tables down, just talking and laughing.

"You won't kill him, you'll probably won't even yell at him, just relax"

"He better look good or else I'll…"

"You'll what? Annoy me to death?"

The blonde turn around and thanked all the heavens: Gaara looked good. More like stunning. It wasn't that the Sabaku dressed bad it was just that Naruto liked it better when his friend actually picked his clothes instead of putting on whatever was closer to him.

"You made it!" the yelling was accompanied by suffocating hug, literally "and you were only 31 minutes late, that's great!"

"I told you, you wouldn't do anything to him"

"Let go off me!"

"Sorry" he grinned sheepishly "Well everyone's here, come"

Gaara hadn't noted the people standing near them. It was the usual, Lee, Kiba, Shino, Ino and Sakura, Sai and two more guests. Two guests Gaara didn't precisely appreciate.

"Hi Gaara! Long time no see!"

A petite feminine figure appeared in front of him, long dark hair pulled up in a bun with some strands falling off, delicate and fine clothing hugging his slender frame, a beautiful face adorned with a dazzling smile.

"Haku"

Haku was one of those potentially meaningful relationships Sasuke teased him about.

"I'm sure you remember-

The one that had got wrong only because of him

"-Zabuza,

The one he had driven away because he hadn't had the guts to admit that he loved him.

"-my boyfriend."

And he probably didn't and hadn't, but it didn't make it less painful to see him with someone else, the 'someone else' that had appeared when he was still with Haku.

"How could I?" he shot a glare to Zabuza and then to Naruto.

"I'm leaving" he was gonna walk out but Naruto grabbed him by the arm pulling him to the side trying not to make that much of a fuzz, Sasuke was entertaining, for his dismay, a worried-looking Haku.

"Don't leave, they're our friends too…"

"That bastard is not my friend!" Naruto looked at him with a pleading look

"Come on Gaara! Do it for me, besides you'll barely notice them, I swear! It just won't be the same without you, please"

Naruto kept looking at Gaara with puppy eyes.

"Fine. But you owe me"

"Yatta! Come on"

They approached the others, Gaara glared at the couple and then turned away scowling and avoiding everyone else's gaze. Sasuke sighed.

Haku was not a mean person. Neither was Zabuza, they just happened to have met in very unkind circumstances. Haku wanted more than what Gaara was willing to give; Zabuza offered him more and he accepted, dumping the Sabaku in a heartbeat.

At that point in life Gaara only seemed to get involved in relationships in which he ended up badly hurt or he hurt the other one badly. Haku was the last drop. After him the redhead hadn't even bother in looking for another relationship.

"Ok then! Which cars are we taking?" a joyous and not so oblivious Naruto called out.

They got it sorted out and made their way to the Akatsuki Night Club.

_**At the club**_

Having a friend whose brother was the manager of the hottest club in town definitely had benefits; they got inside in a heartbeat and got seats right away. It was kind of like a semicircular couch with a table in the middle, none of them really stayed there for long, but they liked the idea of sitting down when they felt like it.

Gaara programmed himself to be broody and grouchy all night, either that or really wasted, but he didn't feel like facing Temari the next morning with a hangover so the first option was the chosen one.

It wasn't particularly hard, he had been in a hell of a bad mood since he first took a glance at Haku, didn't help the fact that they were stuck together, he couldn't begin to grasp Naruto's logic… or more so the lack of it.

And then there were the half drunk people that came over and hit on him, the fully drunk that tried to make a move on him nor the sober ones that wanted to talk ignoring the fact that it was very obviously pissing the redhead off.

At that precise point in life he felt like killing for no tangible reason. Well, Haku's smile and the way he hugged Zabuza was a reason, but still, not a concrete one.

He decided to make his move to the bar, they had been there for a while and besides the short periods of time when everybody was dancing and he was left to himself, he had been more than upset.

Once at the bar he placed himself between two stalls and asked for a drink. He turned around leaning on the bar to watch, more like glare at the people in the crowd, who were happily dancing or talking or whatever. The barman handed him the drink, and he began to drink it slowly, still glaring at the mass of people.

He wasn't one for large crowds; hell, he could barely stand the few people that were around him on a daily basis. Basically growing up with Naruto and Sasuke had make him tolerate them. When the three of them were together Gaara felt at ease. However, Naruto being Naruto, had to draw people to them.

He had made the mistake of thinking he was like one of those people, that he could be cheery like they were, that he could be happy with them. He had accepted Haku as that opportunity. He always thought he could've done something more; that he could've make the relationship work, that its failure was his fault because he never tried enough. But he wasn't really sure of what he would have done if they would've stayed together.

It still hurt to have been dismissed like that. Haku just fled with that other guy. But Gaara learned his lesson. He wouldn't be fooled again. He reversed his path and went back to the one he had been. Untrusting, distant, cold and unapproachable.

The more he dwelled on it, the more he got pissed.

Right about the time when he thought he was about to punch some random stranger, Sasuke made his way over. Though it'd be very bad to punch Sasuke, it would definitely be extremely satisfying. Still, a screeching Naruto would be bothersome.

"Having a good time?" the raven asked sarcastically.

"Fuck off" the Sabaku growled out, not looking at the Uchiha.

"I really love to be close to you when you're in sunshine mood, it makes me wanna glomp you"

The redhead sent a chilling at the raven "Fuck off…"

"Aw, must you always be such a sweety?"

"Uchiha…"

"Relax, psycho, I come in peace" Sasuke leaned on the bar like facing the crowd, much like Gaara was doing. The redhead stared ahead, decided to ignore his friend.

After a long silence Sasuke spoke again

"It never would've worked"

Gaara jerked his head at the Uchiha glaring at him.

"With Haku or Naruto for that matter, it wouldn't have worked"

The redhead was about to leave but the other one stopped him.

"You know it too, don't play dumb, you were just hurting yourself and hurting him"

Gaara leaned back again "What do you know?"

"Enough" after another silence he spoke again "I'm saying it as your friend, you know? You just have to accept it and move on, its not the end of the world, so stop acting like it is"

The redhead stood silent for a while longer "I'm going home" he said as he left his drink on the table and walked away from the Uchiha.

"Don't get lost" Sasuke said boredly. It wasn't like Gaara was stupid enough to get in trouble, and despite the location, he wanted to have fun; so he went off to find his boyfriend.

_**At another corner of the club…**_

Neji got to the club, he was with some friends from college, the kind of friends of which he didn't precisely care about or knew their last names. It was something he did when he didn't want to look pathetic by entering a club all by himself, go out with random semi-strangers.

They walked together but not really minding each other. He was determined to find something (or rather _someone_) to do and get the hell out of there.

He walked around for a while. There was nothing that caught his eyes, male or female, he was already boring, he had ditched the other guys long time before. But it wasn't as he didn't have a bunch of people coming over and starting conversations, he was after all, really good looking and attractive. Excusing himself to abandon said conversations was getting old.

He was on his way to get something from the bar when he saw something that caught his eyes. Lithe figure, vibrant red hair, a scowl that made the guy look like he was just as bored as himself. Maybe they could entertain each other for a while.

He was about to make his way over, sexy smirk in place and all, when someone jerked him by the arm, just before he turned around he saw the Uchiha he had met, the owner of the little café talking to the redhead, he spun around to face non other than his girlfriend. He rose an eyebrow at her as she spoke

"So this is what you do, go to a club right after we fight"

He turned around to check on the guy, but there were no traces of him.

"Who are you looking at!?" The brunette yelled at him trying to take a look, he sighed annoyed

"I was meeting a friend and I had just spotted him, but he left now, happy?"

"A friend, yeah right a friend, do you think I don't know?" tears were running down her cheeks.

"Let's go talk somewhere else" Neji said taking a hold of her arm, as he noted the stares the people around them were giving them. TenTen freed herself from his grip and stomped out, Neji following close behind.

It was just perfect, a long night to go with his already long day.

_**Later **_

Gaara was slumped in his computer's couch [1 (it was far more comfortable than a chair), he was trying to get some stuff done, he had lots of feelings he needed out, and drawing was the only way available that didn't involve getting his hands dirty or hiding from the police.

He just needed something he couldn't describe. He wanted to scream, run, hit something. But it wasn't quite the thing. The thing wouldn't go away.

He resigned himself as he saw no progress in his work and just set to thinking, reclining himself fully back on the couch, music loud as he could handle.

Maybe Sasuke was right, but that didn't mean anything.

He knew those relationships might have not been the one, but he wanted the damn chance to figure out by himself. He was tired of people seemingly knowing what was best for him when he couldn't even tell what the hell he was doing, or what the hell he was feeling.

After a couple of hours he fell asleep.

**Next day**

After an exhausting night, Neji woke up feeling tired. He had spent the night at TenTen's. Half of it was spent fighting and discussing, part of it trying to convince her and himself that they could make it work… long night.

And to top it all, Shikamaru and him had to go to the little Café to attend the meeting with the last owner so that they could get to work with the God forsaken project. It was just a big pain in the ass, but hey, one has to do what one has to do. He was supposed to meet his partner at some place so that they could leave together from there, since the Nara still had his car.

So he was walking over the damned place, thankfully it was pretty close to TenTen's house, and he just didn't want to stick around with her, even if they seemed to have patched things up.

The walk was uneventful. He hated the way the night before had gone, he practically dared the brunette to dump him, but she just wouldn't. And he couldn't even gather the strength to say anything.

It was like he tried to persuade her into leaving and she persuaded him to stay. Needless to say she was winning big time.

**Next day**

Gaara was running. He was LATE. That was like suicide when it came to his sister. He had gotten over 10 text messages.

The night before, he kept waking up all night and finally fell into a deep sleep when it was almost time for the sun to come out.

That's what he was so late. He was glad Temari had stopped sending him messages, they drove him insane. If you're gonna use your phone, why don't just call? He hated typing in the thing.

On top of that, he had kindly forgotten to announce the guys from his appointment that he couldn't go, so things where going peachy for him.

He got to the restaurant Temari had signaled and walked in. He was sore in his neck and back, since he had fallen asleep on a weird position. He cracked his back as he asked the receptionist for their table. The girl told him the reservation under his sister's name had been rescheduled, and that she had left as soon as she had gotten into the restaurant.

"Was she accompanied?" he asked irritated.

"Yes, a gentlemen with brown hair was with her when she came in and out"

"Thanks" Gaara mumbled.

He was getting impatient. What the fuck was up with his crazy insane excuse of a family? He went outside to smoke a cigarette, he really needed to relax a little.

The redhead sent a message to his sister, since she didn't answer the phone. He assumed both his siblings were together from what the waitress had said, but he didn't understand why would they just leave.

Nobody was answering him and his cigarette wasn't doing its job.

**awww**

Neji was walking towards the point where he and Shikamaru were to meet when he got a message.

_Had to leave. Car's on the parking lot but the keys r in my pocket. Meet the dude? Thks._

He could barely believe what he was reading. He could very well strangle the boy, but he had at least gotten him out of his girlfriend's house without him having to get into another great fight, so it was cool.

He sighed, he was already at the damned place. And then he saw it. He just couldn't believe his eyes. He smirked in satisfaction, guess there's a little karma after all. There was no mistake, the redhead from the night before, the one he couldn't reach, standing in front of a nearby restaurant. He walked over to the guy. It was his lucky day.

**Right place, right time?**

Gaara was fighting with his lighter. It seemed as though everything was against him that day. Why wouldn't it work!?? He just needed a little flame for a very little while to freaking light his fucking last cigarette. Did life have to be so damn hard?

He was about to throw the little stick away along with the ungrateful piece of shit (read: lighter) when someone talked to him.

"Hi, excuse me, do you have a spare cig?"

The redhead looked up to find a gorgeous brunet with the weirdest eyes he had ever seen. Perceptible fit body, wrapped in tight jeans a white undershirt and a navy blue dressy button up shirt that was open, covered by a black jacket that made the guy look like he had just gotten out of a club (cause he sort of had), long brown hair that seemed to be very soft and that practically screamed to be touched. He only thought one thing and it was on the lines that he fancied what he was seeing, just cruder.

"No" he smirked "but if you have a lighter I'm willing to share"

The brunet smirked back "As a matter of fact I do, guess its our lucky day, uh?" he said while fumbling in his jacket pocket and taking out the artifact "I'm Neji by the way"

"Gaara" the redhead answered offering his hand to the taller man who almost instantly shook it never breaking eye contact. Gaara wasn't used to be polite to random strangers, but he also almost never had naughty thoughts of random strangers, so he felt his behavior was justified.

After they shook hands (a little longer than necessary) Neji lifted both his hands in front of Gaara's face offering the flame so that the redhead could lit the sin stick. Gaara didn't know why but it felt as though everything happening between them was very enticing.

"Are you waiting for somebody?" the Hyuuga asked when Gaara passed him the stick.

"Yes, my sister, you?"

Neji blew out the smoke "No, it seems like I have been ditched"

"That's crazy, who would ditch someone so good looking" Gaara said flirtingly. The Hyuuga's smirk grew wider.

"A straight guy"

Gaara shrugged, "Figures"

They kept making polite conversation and passing the cigarette back and forth until Gaara's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"I'm sorry!" Temari shouted from the other end

"Where the hell are you?"

"I found a friend I hadn't seen in a LONG time and I just sort of left"

Gaara stood silent for a few seconds "You what!?"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry"

"Do you know what I had to… never mind"

"I'll make it up to you, I promise"

"Yeah, whatever"

"Are you mad?"

Gaara sighed and looked at the Hyuuga who seemed to be very entertained by watching him "No, it's cool, see ya later"

"Ok bye, I love you"

Gaara hung up. He wasn't gonna embarrass himself in front of the hot and sexy Neji by answering to that.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah, I was just stood up I guess"

Neji chuckled "Though luck"

"I guess" Gaara inhaled the last bit of cigarette and threw it out.

"Say Gaara, would you like to go have a coffee or something"

"Sure, wait no" he said as he remembered something, the Hyuuga raised an eyebrow at this "I forgot I had another appointment today, but-" the redhead nibbled on his lower lip as he took out a pen from his pocket, he took the taller male's hand and scribbled something on his wrist "-call me if you wanna do something later"

"Ok" Neji said smiling at Gaara.

"I have to go now" the shorter male spoke "see you later?"

"Definitely" Neji said as Gaara walked away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**A/N**

Hello everyone! Hisashiburi Dayone!

SOOO it has been quite a year, uh?

Yeah, I don't know about this chapter, except that its absolutely unbetaed.

I'll repost it once I got it revised.

Uh, nothing else to say now…

10/31/2007 11:50 PM

Happy Hallow's Eve


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